Spice Coast Kitchen

Spice Coast Kitchen is mainly about the food of the western coastal state of Kerala, India. Since I am an equal opportunity foodie, I will also be writing about food in general, and recipes that I have tried and love.

Heat olive oil in a heavy pan. Turn off the heat. Add minced garlic and rosemary followed by the powdered ingredients. When it cools, add lemon juice. Marinate the lamb in this mixture for at least an hour.

Method:Skin and cube potatoes. Heat oil in a saute pan. When the oil is hot, add mustard seeds and uraddal. When the mustard seeds have finished popping add chopped onions, green chilies, ginger, and curry leaves. When the onions have wilted, add potatoes and turmeric. Stir well to coat. Add water and keep it covered. Let the potatoes cook well. Depending on the variety of potato, you may need to add more or less water. When potato is cooked and the spices well blended, take off the stove. Serve with poori.

Sunday, November 18, 2007

Upma

Upma is India's answer to Southern grits and Italian polenta! My go to dish for breakfast, Upma is easy to make and satisfying. You can make it elaborate by adding a cup of vegetables or keep it simple with just a few cashew nuts for crunch. Delicious either way!

*Cream of wheat is available in Indian grocery stores. It comes in 2 varieties, thick and thin. I like the thicker version for Upma because it gives a nicer texture to the finished dish.

Method:

Heat a heavy pan and dry roast cream of wheat for 3-5 minutes. It burns easily, so keep a watchful eye! Remove before it starts to take color. Keep aside.

Heat oil in the same pan. When the oil heats up add urad dal and mustard seeds. When the mustard seeds have finished popping add the chopped onion, ginger, green chilies, and curry leaves. Saute till onions have wilted, don't let it brown! Add water and salt. Bring to a boil. Reduce heat and add roasted cream of wheat. Stir well. Keep the pan covered for a 2 - 3 minutes. Remove lid, and stir. At this point, the water is absorbed and upma is moist and fluffy. Add ghee and take off heat. Stir in the roasted cashews. Garnish with coriander leaves and serve.

I like to eat with a sunny side egg on top or a banana. My husband prefers pickle and spicy chutney. To each his own!

Note: If you prefer Upma to be more moist, add a little bit more water, about 1/4 cup.

Sunday, November 4, 2007

Dosa

Dosa is probably the most popular of Southern Indian dishes. Though served mostly for breakfast, it makes a wonderful lunch or dinner! Serve it plain or stuff with potatoes to make MasalaDosa.

My mother used to make it with a little ghee and sugar in the middle for the kids. She would just sprinkle a bit of sugar and ghee as it is cooking. I still love to eat it this way, though sometimes I use splenda and olive oil instead to make an adult version!

Clean and soak the rices and dal separately in plenty of water for 4-6 hours. Grind dal in a heavy duty blender till very smooth. Add enough water to facilitate smooth grinding. Similarly, grind the rice till very smooth. Mix ground dal and rice together and keep in a warm place to ferment overnight. In winter, you may have to leave it in a preheated oven to achieve fermentation. Just warm the oven, turn it off and leave the batter inside. When fermented, the batter would rise and become foamy. At this point, it would have the consistency of pancake batter. Add salt and mix well. Dosa batter is ready!

Heat a 10" non-stick pan or well seasoned cast-iron griddle. Moisten a papertowel or piece of cotton cloth with a little bit of oil and apply to the pan. This step is critical to keep the dosa from sticking to the pan and should be repeated each time.

Pour the batter (approximately 1/3 - 1/2cup) with a large serving spoon, and quickly spread in concentric circles with the back of the spoon till the batter is spread out evenly. Add 1/2 tsp of vegetable oil or ghee on top. When it crisps, fold over and remove from the pan. Serve immediately.

If dosa is thick, you may have to flip it over and cook the other side too. If it is thin, this step may be eliminated. To make MasalaDosa, add a heaping spoonful of spiced potato masala in the middle of the dosa before folding.

The recipe may be halved or quartered. The batter keeps well in the refrigerator for upto a week. Bring to room temperature before proceeding.

It may take a few trials to master spreading dosa. As the saying goes, practice makes perfect!

About Me

This blog is my culinary diary. Most of the recipes are for dishes that I grew up with while some are newcomers I have discovered along the way. All of these have been tried and tested in my kitchen. My style of cooking is to cook by feel and taste and I had to make a conscious effort to measure and time. Hence I caution you, these recipes are just general guidelines! If you are so inclined to try any of my recipes, feel free to add or subtract to your taste! Afterall, cooking is more an art than a science!